China has turned to public shaming, fines and even substantial prison terms to force children to care for aging parents and treat them well.

There are also positive incentives -- including local and national competitions for the best displays of filial piety, The Los Angeles Times reports. Tian Shiguo, a Guangzhou lawyer, was selected as Best Person of the Year for donating one of his kidneys to his mother -- without telling her he was the donor.

"My contribution to my mother does not compare to what she has given me," he said modestly.

China's recent economic boom has frayed intergenerational bonds and raised concerns that the lack of a social safety net can leave older people in desperate circumstances. That is one reason for the five-year prison terms for children who fail to take care of parents.

The government also runs television commercials like the one that shows an elderly woman hearing that her children are too busy to have dinner with her, and television dramas like "Nine Daughters at Home," meant to encourage a traditional sense of duty.